Kalamazoo man armed with gun arrested in home break-in, police say

File PhotoA man who police say was armed with a gun was arrested Tuesday in a home break-in in Kalamazoo's Vine neighborhood.

KALAMAZOO, MI – A man armed with a gun was arrested Tuesday by Kalamazoo Public Safety officers after he tried to break in to a house in the city’s Vine neighborhood, authorities said.

Officers arrested the 21-year-old Kalamazoo resident, whose name has not been released, after responding at 7:33 a.m. for a report that someone had kicked in a door at a house in the 600 block of Wheaton Avenue, Lt. David O’Strander said.

O’Strander said a resident of the house heard the door get kicked and contacted police. O’Strander said investigators believe the suspect never actually stepped foot in the house because he realized someone was inside.

At the scene, officers spotted the man a short distance from the house and attempted to arrest him. O’Strander said there was a brief struggle before officers were able to arrest the man.

After his arrest, O’Strander said police recovered stolen property from the man’s car that is suspected of being taken in other break-ins. Officers also found that the man was in possession of a handgun.

On Wednesday, O’Strander said the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office had authorized charges of carrying a concealed weapon and assaulting and resisting police against the man. He said a request for a burglary charge was denied by prosecutors but detectives plan to re-submit the case and seek the charge again this week.

O’Strander said the man was being held Wednesday in the Kalamazoo County Jail.